Jeremiah finally attends school
The three-year yearn to attend school is finally over for Jeremiah Padayachy, who attended school for the first time on Thursday (August 4).
“It was so much fun. I am definitely going back to school,” the 10-year-old said as soon as he returned home.
“I made two new friends, and the teacher taught us how to spell some words.”
Jeremiah is in Grade Four and currently attends Actonville Training Centre (ATC) on Daveyton Road, a school that caters for children with special needs.
After numerous attempts by his mother, Rishika Singh, to place Jeremiah in a school, he was finally assessed by the Department of Education (DOE) last year, which took into consideration that he was born without a palate and it was decided that he should attend the training centre.
However, since the decision was made, he was still not placed at ATC until the issue was highlighted by the City Times, who queried the DOE about Jeremiah not attending school for three years.
An article was published on page 3 in the issue dated July 29, highlighting the problem, and a week later, he was placed at ATC.
Lindeni Moloto, an inclusion specialist at the DOE, met with Rishika Singh on August 1 and the two women visited the training centre on the same day to clarify that Jeremiah could start school on August 4.
“Fortunately, Lindeni said there were ATC school uniforms at the DOE, which she dropped off on Tuesday (August 2),” said Singh.
“She also visited the training centre with me to make sure that Jeremiah got a place at the school.”
After watching his siblings get ready every morning for school, Jeremiah could finally relate to the pressure of waking up on time and getting dressed for school.
“Jeremiah was so excited that he was the first one from his siblings, Joshua and Annalee Padayachy, to get dressed for school on Thursday morning,” Singh added.
“He even spent quite an amount of time deciding which way to comb his hair.”
At the age of seven, due to several reasons including assessments, space, documentations and Jeremiah being born without a palate, he was unable to attend school like most children his age.
Although the 10-year-old experienced the anxiety of his first day at school three years after he should have, he still proudly walked out of his class at the end of the day.
“The teacher was nice to me, and so were my classmates, I had a great day” Jeremiah said.
“My favourite part of the day was being surrounded by schoolchildren and playing on the slides during the break.”
Singh said her only wish was that by her birthday (August 2), all three of her children were placed at a school, and she was relieved a day before her birthday when Jeremiah was accepted at ATC.
“The school hours are from 8am to 12.50pm,” she said.
“As long as all three of my children have an education, I am a happy mother.”
Jeremiah and his mother thanked the City Times for bringing to light the news of him not attending school.
Also read: Jeremiah yearns to attend school
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